Five Signs the Church May Now Be Falling Away

07/21/2012 13:23

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 2 Thessalonians 2:3

The assured sign concerning the coming of Jesus and our gathering together with Him is this “falling away.” It’s been described as a great apostasy of the church resulting in a remnant of faithful ones. Are we seeing signs of this apostasy? Recent real life events seem to show we are there, and it's clear there are five distinct signs that it's happening now.

I’ve provided several links to news articles showing this gradual falling away. Research proves there are people leaving the church. For many in the mainline denominations, the church is leaving the people.

Probably the first step of the church falling away is a step away from the belief that God’s word is inerrant. In fact, in some instances, only parts with which people agree are respected and the “disagreeable” parts of the Bible are discarded. Some people can’t or just refuse to reconcile their lives with the purity of God’s word, so they toss it and write their own Bible; something that fits more with their chosen lifestyle.

This is nothing new; Satan, in the form of a serpent, cast doubt about the accuracy of God’s Word in his presentation to Eve in Genesis 3:1. He tried to pull the same tactic with Jesus in His temptation in Luke 4:1-13.

The church falling into compromise is another step off the cliff. Some churches are scrubbing away everything that offends and turns people off in an effort to become more accepting. Some churches have carried this task to the extent there is no appearance of difference between the church and the world and new age cults.

Church leaders yielding to sin and bringing reproach on the gospel fosters apathy and disgust causing many to leave. Satan’s tactic to diminish respect for the church and leadership reaches its zenith when they fall into vile sin.

The concept of “servant” in servant-leadership is abandoned and authority is abused. This is a definite characteristic of Satan’s false leadership. Nothing in it flows with humility or service, but only selfishness and personal gratification, and the more vile the more successful is Satan’s destruction.

Then there is the huge move towards sanctioning gay marriage in churches. We find it odd that marriage is in decline where couples are choosing to cohabitate, yet homosexuals want to marry legally and do so in the church. Yep, that is weird and a sure mark of Satan.

The Satanic plot behind the homosexual movement is to mock the Biblical concept of marriage because it represents the relationship of Christ and the church. For more about that read my blog posts They hate marriage and chicken sandwiches, don’t they? and Gay End Times. Homosexual marriage is a mockery but also a perversion of what God created and called good. Satan wins when temples of God’s breath commit perverted acts.

The enemy’s agenda is all too clear; sanction homosexuality in the church to demonstrate his hatred to God.

General William Booth, founer of the Salvation Army in the late 19th Century made this statement:

In answer to your inquiry, I consider that the chief dangers that confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.

Did General Booth speak prophetically? Sure seems like it.

Even though a lukewarm church bathed in filth of the world is falling away, God will always reserve a remnant. Those who seek Him and His kingdom first will find it and in these last days they will bring Glory to God by being the generation to fulfill His promise of a church without spot or wrinkle that goes about healing the sick, casting out devils, freely receiving and freely giving.